Farang lives matter.    Possibly.

In Thailand, never explain, never complain. Just understand how it works and minimise the inconveniences.

 

So no marriage, no buying property, no human ATM, avoid anything that’s farang price ... enjoy the good stuff to the max and minimise the bad. You won’t avoid the odd rip off now and again but it will be a minor inconvenience. And if things change and you don’t enjoy it anymore you can be gone within 24 hours. Don’t burn bridges or over commit ... the only way to play it.

Just now, AlexRich said:

In Thailand, never explain, never complain. Just understand how it works and minimise the inconveniences.

 

So no marriage, no buying property, no human ATM, avoid anything that’s farang price ... enjoy the good stuff to the max and minimise the bad. You won’t avoid the odd rip off now and again but it will be a minor inconvenience. And if things change and you don’t enjoy it anymore you can be gone within 24 hours. Don’t burn bridges or over commit ... the only way to play it.

you have just excluded 95% of the viewership !

Life is too short to worry about double pricing. If it's a good or service that is STILL cheaper than I would be paying in Australia, I pay it quite happily. If it's a charge that is too much of a ripoff, I walk away.

Stockholm syndrome.

Was it really necessary to make it public ?

40 minutes ago, rob63 said:

Hilarious...hahaha

Thank you,I am glad that it made you laugh..

 

It's no use going to Thailand and getting a bad case of the grumps,eh?

 

 

I didn't manage to finish the first post so I'm not sure what this thread is about, but are people really complaining about prices in Thailand? I never met a country where people were so modest with prices and decent about profit. In fact I often wonder how they can possibly make money. 

4 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

So many harsh comments !!

He is only addressing ex members of SAS and French Foreign Legion !!

Yeah. What about all the SBS guys ? And SEALS ? And Green Berets, Delta, JTF, Spetsnaz, GS9 and all the other former elite special forces members that supposedly make up 2/3rds of the expats in Pattaya ? You really don't want to ignore all those guys or make them think that the SAS and Legion are better than they are !!

(Actually it's more like 9/10s of the expats in Pattaya but the real pros don't like to brag about their backgrounds like the posers do.)
Personally I was never "special" anything, though I did spend a few weeks training with the Foreign Legion. (Well, being "trained by" would be more appropriate and the food SUCKED - except for the bread.) 

As for uni pricing ? Yes, countries charge FOREIGN students more than domestic because that's the only way most of them have of limiting the number of foreign students and keeping slots open for their own citizens. Otherwise, in places like BC (Canada), no Canadians would be attending uni because all the schools would be filled with Hong Kong Chinese.
I wonder what Thai Universities charge foreign students ? (Of course you already know that they don't charge foreign students anymore than Thais and have the links to prove it, right ?)

Oh, many places in Canada have double pricing as well. Did you know, that in some places, Students and Senior Citizens can get discounted prices ???? Discounts that no one else, foreign or local, can get ? 
And foreigners don't get charged 2-4 times the admission price that locals do ? I know, shocking isn't it ? ????

While over here, I go to a National park (like at Khao Phra Viharn) and get charged FOUR times the price of admission that a Thai would pay ! For a park where half the listed sites are on the other side of a triple concertina fence patrolled by armed soldiers.
 
Same thing at places like the Crocodile Farm (with out the razor wire and armed soldiers as far as I can tell).

I know ! Just kick all the foreigners out ! After all, they only account for about 16-20% of the countries economy ! And so what if that means about 20+% of the workforce would be unemployed and thousands of businesses would have to close.

At least then you wouldn't have those pesky special forces guys trying to rent the condo you were hoping to get at a discount, or "renting" your prized girlfriends out from under you while you sat there waiting, hoping they'd go home with you (for free) after their shift ended.

Isn't that usually what sets of rants like this ? Some guy has his eye set on a certain honey and suddenly Mr Hansum steps up and pays her bar fine and off she goes without even a single glance towards Mr "I'll wait until she's off shift and hope she goes with me" ? 

(I've seen that in bars actually. Some old punter, too cheap to even buy "teerak" a drink, nursing a beer and a hope until suddenly he sees her grabbing her purse and heading to the door with someone else. Suddenly the "hope" is dashed, the beer is downed and he stomps out the door.)

I won't say I've barfined girls on purpose just to see the expression on the face of someone like that.

(But I have. And it was hilarious.)

An inflammatory post and a reply has been removed. 

The one that I hate is "They don't even speak English" as a criticism of a waiter or shop assistant.

Who but an American or British would say such a thing? I have been expat for over half of my life (I'm 67)....everywhere I go I meet expats who don't even bother to try to learn the local language, but rely on the locals addressing them in English. Absolute arrogance, especially as we expect them to speak English if they visit US or UK.

1 hour ago, BigDaddy66 said:

Stockholm syndrome.

Was it really necessary to make it public ?

The stockholmers generally have nobody to talk to in real life so they choose to come here out of sheer boredom and lack of mental stimulation they have become alienated from the ex-pat community hence the bitterness towards other foreigners. 

 

They think if they bow down long enough eventually they will be accepted by the locals without having to pay for their company.

 

They long to feel special due to a deep insecurity inside of themselves and hope & pray that all other foreigners leave Thailand so they can have some kind of novelty value because they have no other value to the locals other than their ATM card.

 

I for one find these characters fascinating.

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, misterjames said:

The stockholmers generally have nobody to talk to in real life so they choose to come here out of sheer boredom and lack of mental stimulation they have become alienated from the ex-pat community hence the bitterness towards other foreigners. 

 

They think if they bow down long enough eventually they will be accepted by the locals without having to pay for their company.

 

They long to feel special due to a deep insecurity inside of themselves and hope & pray that all other foreigners leave Thailand so they can have some kind of novelty value because they have no other value to the locals other than their ATM card.

 

I for one find these characters fascinating.

 

 

 

Add 2 more professions foreign expats pride themselves in. Psychologists and detectives. 

 

The free advice is mostly given on barstools near LK Metro. 

 

 

Just now, Pravda said:

Add 2 more professions foreign expats pride themselves in. Psychologists and detectives. 

 

The free advice is mostly given on barstools near LK Metro. 

 

 

???? was it a bit to close to home for you? you know what they say right? if the shoe fits! 

3 minutes ago, misterjames said:

???? was it a bit to close to home for you? you know what they say right? if the shoe fits! 

 

I dunno about those shoes. You certainly wrote a lot about the subject. 

1 minute ago, Pravda said:

 

I dunno about those shoes. You certainly wrote a lot about the subject. 

Trying to understand why certain ex-pats choose to slam every other ex-pat and why they do it is something I find interesting.

 

Feel free to add your own theories about why they hate all other westerners? and why they are constantly making excuses about the racist ways of the country they will never be accepted in?

 

When you think about why they do it soon enough you will be able to unravel some twisted logic behind it.

 

 

9 hours ago, phetphet said:

Nothing to do with double pricing. More to do with value for money.

 

If I think a hotel is too expensive, I book a different one within my price range.

I agree with you 100% on that.

 

With a wife and two girls under 11 when I book a hotel I try to find one that has a double bed and double bunks for the girls in the same room, or 2 double beds, or 2 singles and a double in the same room, sure you get my point.

 

The majority of hotels want you to book two rooms, or pay for an extra bed, some don't even have that, suffice to say, I skip most of the hotels that don't accommodate a family, and of course I get urked when they want to charge almost the same price for the bed as for the room, suffice to say I have found that iBis is a family friendly hotel, a 30m2 room with a double bed and a double bunk, called the family room, it might be a little more expensive that a twin or superior room, usually 500 baht per night, but hey, they have won our business each and every time, why because families should not be looked at as an extra room charge, or an extra bed charge that is almost the same charge as the room.

 

I have become accustomed to double pricing by Thai's, i.e. trying to rip us farangs off, and when they do try me, they don't get my business or repeat business, it's just plain greed by mostly uneducated people who think we are stupid. I say that, because when I ask how much something is and they tell me, I know it ain't right, so then I will send the wife in and she will ring me and tell me the price, which is usually 1/2 the price, sometimes more, and she will say do you want it, and I will say, no thanks, and she will tell the store owner that she just called her husband who wanted her to buy it, but when he tried, it was 1/2 or more the price, so he doesn't want me to buy it now and then walks off, a slap in the face if you like, naturally I would assume that they would be saying, "up to you" under their breath as he walks out, it's just plain stupid, same with the hotels, so as you say, value for money, albeit it double pricing does exist everywhere, trust me on that.

11 hours ago, Pravda said:

You just can't see yourself paying council tax anymore, the immigrants have taken over,

That's an ignorant, racist statement.

 

Just saw a special about the people of England.  England is named after immigrants.  The Angles from Germany.

 

Don't forget about the Danes, Vikings and Normans.  The Normans even had everyone in England speaking French for awhile.

 

Guess what?  They all assimilated.  As do ALL IMMIGRANTS EVERYWHERE over time.

 

Tosser. ????????????????

Most people posting on thaivisa are whiners.  Expats and thais.   I have lived here 35 years.   It is still paradise.    I could go back to the USA?   No thanks.   Double pricing in Thailand?  Yep.   I still have a choice and often at double the price it is still cheap.   There are just too many things that are a part of everyday life that are just not worth the bother.  Whining about living somewhere that you don't like is one of them.    

 

 

Is it wrong to complain when the dog comes in from the road with blood on him from cutting his paw on broken glass beer bottles left on the side of the road? Is it wrong to complain the stink of roadside fires when there could be composting going on? Is it wrong to suggest improvements to environment and lifestyle? Is it wrong to complain when there is road carnage due to to ghost riding motor bikes and bicycles? Cars drivers not waiting 2 seconds for traffic to pass, but pulling out and driving slowly so you can't pass? Is it wrong to complain of the tree branch used to tell other drivers there's a problem ahead? Is it wrong to complain that workers repair roads in the dark with inadequate lighting?

Is it wrong to complain? Did you not complain back in the home country. I am here, I live by the same standards as the Thais, except I'm not out all night every night drinking. Driving my motorbike with no lights, or blue headlights. no more than 2 people up, no phone or baby in my hands. Number plate attached to both bike and car. Both insured and taxed. Not overloaded with rice bags or corn bags. 

As for hotels, I stay where the wife tells me to stay. I complain to her about double pricing and don't go again.

Western privilege, good grief. I feel privileged to live here, but it doesn't stop me whinging. After all, I am  Pom.

Next time I'm looking for advice as to how to construct a disjointed and nonsensical rant, I now know exactly where to go.

We get that you enjoy being the only farang in your village. Now go away, there's a good chap. 

This guy got the wrong mushrooms today

14 hours ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

So what is your point??

 

Btw, generally speaking I absolutely loathe 'expats' Vile, weird, know it all failures, in the main.

it seems that he didn't have anything smart or useful to say, so he said it !

 

13 hours ago, Bruno123 said:

I suspect this thread will go downhill very fast.

But yes to a certain extent, a certain demographic with a superiority complex is getting a reality check as we speak.

No longer as easy to buy anything they want and corrupt the locals at their leisure.

Now scraping the barrel and communing with the lowest of the low, complaining about the price of this and that and hoping for the collapse of the Thai economy.

Often racists at heart, complaining of brown people taking over their country, whilst living in Thailand and communing with brown skinned people when they can afford it. Irony at it's finest.

Western privilege indeed.

 

And sit for days on a barstool on soi buckow, nursing a cheap beer, earing chicken and rice, complaining of the chinese tour groups not spending any money, and how dare the Indians enjoy themselves n holiday while my merger pension goes to the dogs.

What age does this officially start? 

21 hours ago, thequietman said:

 

I do get upset when I can't get any level of customer care here in Thailand. However, I feel that is something even the Thai people expect, but cannot get.

No matter I have been in Thailand I have found customer care exceptional. I am comparing it to what I am use to in the USA.

If you call an airlines, Agoda, Lazada, AIS you actually get a real person, not a pre-recorded message telling you to go to their website. If I want my motorbike serviced they do it on the spot. No appts or waiting around for hours. When I was back in the USA in Feb I had an appt to have my oil changed. It took them 2 hours. 

My absolute favorite example of customer service is having my Rolex watch serviced in Udon Thani. The main spring was broken and it needed a complete servicing. This would have taken weeks in the USA. It took the watch repair 1 hour and 10 minutes to completely dissemble, clean, reset and rebuild the watch. 1 year guarantee and it runs beautifully. That is customer service.

Jeeez, they want to topple statues here now.

25 minutes ago, Onrai said:

No matter I have been in Thailand I have found customer care exceptional. I am comparing it to what I am use to in the USA.

If you call an airlines, Agoda, Lazada, AIS you actually get a real person, not a pre-recorded message telling you to go to their website. If I want my motorbike serviced they do it on the spot. No appts or waiting around for hours. When I was back in the USA in Feb I had an appt to have my oil changed. It took them 2 hours. 

My absolute favorite example of customer service is having my Rolex watch serviced in Udon Thani. The main spring was broken and it needed a complete servicing. This would have taken weeks in the USA. It took the watch repair 1 hour and 10 minutes to completely dissemble, clean, reset and rebuild the watch. 1 year guarantee and it runs beautifully. That is customer service.

Rolex are repaired by Rolex in Bkk.  A decent place in Udon wouldnt touch it.

1 hour ago, pineapple01 said:

Rolex are repaired by Rolex in Bkk.  A decent place in Udon wouldnt touch it.

 

And that is where I took mine. Rolex Bangkok.

2 person bicker/flame fest is over and posts have been removed.